


The Path Not Taken

by Trufreak89



Category: All For One (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, post 1X12, pre dorlex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 22:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6489487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trufreak89/pseuds/Trufreak89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tensions between Alex and Dorothy mount, and result in some unexpected consequences after yet another row about Miller/Anton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Path Not Taken

  
“Seriously, Alex? This again?” Dorothy threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. She pushed the other girl’s hand away from her arm as Alex tried to reach out for her. “I know how you feel about Miller, and maybe he was a douche when you knew him, but he’s not Anton anymore! He’s not that guy!”   
“Dorothy, please! I was only asking you to be careful. Anton is-”  
“Miller is a great guy! He’s helping us with this Rick stuff and-”

“And have you even stopped to think about why?” Alex demanded. She caught hold of Dorothy’s wrist as she tried to walk away from her. “Don’t you think it’s even the slightest bit convenient? I mean, you have a run-in with Rochefort and suddenly Miller shows up and-”

“Enough!” Dorothy wrenched her arm free, glaring daggers at Alex. “That’s enough! I get that you and Miller have history, and it must be super hard on you right now, but you don’t get to…” The end of her rant was cut off in spectacular fashion as Alex took a step forward and grabbed a fistful of her favorite plaid shirt. For a single - fleeting - second, Dorothy tensed up, expecting Alex to hit her. The thought was a crazy one, but it made more sense than what Alex actually ended up doing; because Alex was kissing her.

Dorothy’s brain actually short circuited for a few seconds as she felt Alex’s lips moving against her own - very still - mouth. The freshman couldn’t quite process what was happening. Alex was kissing her. Predictable, reliable, levelheaded, Mom, was kissing her; and then she wasn’t.

Just as Dorothy’s brain kicked back in to gear, and she began to move her own lips, Alex pulled back. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief. “I… I’m sorry!” She turned on her heels(which were a very practical two inches) and fled out the door. Dorothy stared after her, mouth wide open and lips tasting like a coconut lip balm, which Dorothy definitely did not own.

 

 

  
“Are we doing this again?” Connie mused as she walked in to the dorm she shared with Dorothy and found her roommate curled up under her duvet on the couch. Her smile wavered, and her expression turned serious, as she noticed Dorothy’s own severe expression. “Seriously, what happened? Is it Miller?”   
“No.” Dorothy had spent the last few hour curled up in a ball, replaying the argument between her and Alex over and over again in her head.

It had started out as most of their conversations did lately, with Alex warning Dorothy about getting too close to Miller. Dorothy knew the story about ‘Anton’, but she just couldn’t imagine Anton and Miller being the same people. Miller was kind, and funny, and in no way a douche; canoe or otherwise. He’d changed. He had to have.

So it was so much easier for Dorothy to think that, maybe, Alex was just jealous. Her past with Miller was clouding up her judgment, making her see links that just weren’t there. Except, Alex had kissed her. That didn’t seem like the kind of thing someone would do if they were jealous. People didn’t kiss the people their exes got with because they were jealous. So why the hell had Alex kissed her anyway?

“So what is it?” Connie took a seat on the edge of the coffee table, leaning in and clasping her hands together in her lap; like she didn’t trust herself not to reach out for the other girl. Her big blue eyes were so full of concern that it hurt for Dorothy to look in to them.

She looked down instead, wondering when the hell her love life had gotten so complicated. “Nothing.” Dorothy grumbled, and when that didn’t work. “Alex and I had another fight. It wasn’t serious, I just… feel a little crap right now.” It was the truth, or at least most of it.

“In that case, what would you say to a cup of hot cocoa and a Harry Potter movie marathon?” Connie suggested, her usual bright smile returning. Dorothy managed a half smile as she tried to push down the butterflies that were fluttering around in the pit of her stomach.   
“I’d say best roommate ever.”

 

* * *

 

  
“Is Alex not with you guys?” Dorothy couldn’t hide her disappointment as Ariana and Portia walked through the door, hand in hand.   
“Gee, nice to see you too Castlemore.” Ariana rolled her eyes at the other girl. Portia was a little more friendly.

“Alex isn’t feeling very well.” She explained, settling herself on the couch next to her girlfriend. “She’s been so under the weather lately!”   
“Really?” Ariana snorted. “That’s what we’re going with? Mom is moping about, doing a damn good impression of Dorothy when she-” Ariana was abruptly cut off as Portia dug her elbow in to her ribs, and cast her a glare; or at least what passed for a glare from Portia.

“I’m sorry, babe! But we all know what this is about!”   
“We do?” Dorothy’s eyes widened. “Alex told you guys about it?”   
“Wait, I’m talking about the whole Miller-Anton deal. What are you talking about?” Ariana peered skeptically over at the younger girl as Dorothy suddenly found the hem of her shirt intensely interesting.

“The Miller thing… of course.” Dorothy mumbled, not exactly fooling anyone; except maybe Portia, who seemed quite happy to leave it at that.   
“Mom just needs some time.” She insisted. “You know how private Alex can be. Even with us.”   
“Yeah.” Dorothy agreed, feeling a flash of guilt as she caught Portia’s eye. Alex and Portia had once dated. The other girl didn’t know that Dorothy knew, and the secret was weighing heavily on her already burdened conscience.

The words ‘Alex kissed me’ seemed to be dangling on the tip of her tongue, and Dorothy was terrified she was about to scream it out. Instead, she came out with, “I’m going to go check on Alex.”   
“Sweetie, that’s not a good idea.”  
“Yeah, on your head be it, Castlemore.” Laughed Ariana. She knew better than to disturb Alex when she wanted to be alone.

Her laughter didn’t last long though. “ Great. Give me your key.”   
“Huh?”   
“Your house key! I don’t think Alex is going to just answer the door to me… not if she’s sick.” Dorothy quickly added. She was pretty sure the only reason Alex would ever open the door to her would be to slam it shut in her face.

“I don’t know.” Ariana’s bravado was suddenly wavering. “Maybe Portia’s right. Mom needs her space. I’ve seen Alex lose her shit before and, trust me, it wasn’t pretty.” She shuddered, and was backed up by a quietly nodding Portia. Dorothy let out a heavy sigh. She wasn’t going to get anywhere like this.

“Fine. Don’t give me your key. Maybe you just leave your backpack on the floor and look away for a minute? Alex can’t technically blame you if I take it. Can she?” Ariana shook her head at Dorothy, but hefted her backpack up on to the coffee table anyway. She unzipped the front pocket, and then pointedly turned away from it.

“You’re the best Ria.” Dorothy grinned as she nabbed the other girl’s house keys.   
“No idea what you’re talking about, Castlemore. But you’re definitely right.” Ariana tossed over her shoulder, still sitting with her back to Dorothy as she gazed lovingly at her girlfriend. Dorothy left the two of them to it as she pulled on her favorite shirt and headed out to confront Alex.

Her hands were trembling and her palms were sweaty as she finally reached the MST house. It was a Sunday evening, and most students were either nursing hangovers or holed up catching up on the work they should have done over the weekend. The sorority house was surprisingly quiet. Dorothy slipped Ariana’s key in the front door and was all the way upstairs before she encountered anyone.

She recognized the girl who greeted her on the first floor landing as a pledge from one of the MST parties she’d attended at the begging of the semester. Dorothy responded with a tight smile before pushing on up to the second floor.

She found Alex’s room and paused in front of the door, suddenly struck by the thought that ambushing her might not be the best idea she’d ever had. “Screw it.” Dorothy grumbled. She’d come this far. Deciding against knocking, she tried the handle and found the door unlocked. It opened undlessly.

Inside the room was dark. A single lamp was on by the couch, which just about illuminated the shape lying on it. Alex was curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes were still closed, but she groaned out, “Portia, I already told you I don’t want to come with you. Just tell Dorothy I’m sick.”

“She already did.” Alex jumped at that. She sat up, letting the blanket she’d been under pool around her waist, and glared at Dorothy.   
“Well, this is familiar.” The younger girl choked out a laugh, or at least tried to. The sound seemed to get caught in the back of her throat. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

It wasn’t a question, and Alex didn’t even try to deny it. She ran a hand through her hair. It was the first time Dorothy could remember seeing it down, rather than tied up in a no-nonsense pony tail. Dorothy found herself staring, and had to quickly avert her gaze.

Alex didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy looking anywhere but at Dorothy. “About the other day. I was upset. Things with Anton-”  
“You were upset, so you kissed me?” Dorothy couldn’t help the sarcasm that flavored her voice. Alex winced at that, as though Dorothy’s words were laced with barbed wire.

“I’m sorry.” Alex replied quietly. Dorothy actually had to step closer to hear her. “It was a mistake. I was angry, and you wouldn’t shut up…”   
“If you kiss everyone who pisses you off you must kiss an awful lot of people in a day.” Dorothy tried to keep her tone light, but it fell flat. Instead of a playful jibe, it came out like an accusation.

  
“Can we please stop bringing up the fact that I kissed you?” Alex sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine coming on.   
“No. No we can’t!” Dorothy surprised them both with her answer. She stood her ground, standing with her hands on her hips. “You kissed me, Alex! We kind of need to talk about that.”

“No. We don’t.” Alex replied just as firmly.   
“Yes. We do.” Dorothy took a few steps forward, bringing her dangerously close to the older girl. Alex all of a sudden felt like a cornered animal.  
“Dorothy, please.” She tried to stop her, but Dorothy took another step closer to the couch. The feisty freshman wasn’t about to back down.   
“We’re talking about this, Alex! I want to know why the hell you-”

“Because I wanted to!” Alex finally snapped, raising her voice and stopping Dorothy in her tracks. It was the younger girl’s turn to look like a startled animal. Dorothy had never heard her shout before. Alex at least had the good grace to look sheepish about it. She lowered her voice again as she finally continued, given Dorothy the answers she wanted. “I have wanted to kiss you since the first night we met. Maybe I would have, if I hadn’t found out you were a pledge. So to answer your earlier question, yes. Yes I am jealous; but not of Anton.”

“Uh…” Dorothy had no idea what to say to that. She dropped down on to the wooden coffee table, ignoring the way Alex rolled her eyes at her choice of seating. Had they not both been shell shocked by Alex’s admission, Dorothy might have made a crack about giving her a coaster to sit on. As it was, she had other things on her mind. Across from her, Alex moved to sit on the edge of the couch, cradling her head in her hands. “I uh… I…”

“Can we please jut forget any of this ever happened?” Alex was mortified enough without Dorothy sitting there doing a pretty good impression of a goldfish at her. “Please?”   
“I… I don’t know if I can.” Dorothy admitted honestly. She sat wrangling her hands in her lap, unable to look up and face the other girl.   
“Dorothy, please-”   
“You kissed me, and then you go and say something like that and… and, I just… I can’t stop thinking about it.” Dorothy admitted with a sigh.

It wasn’t what Alex was expecting. Her head snapped up, her gaze intense and piercing. Dorothy squirmed under the weight of it. It reminded her of the time she’d been called in to the principals office back in middle school. “Now it’s your turn to say something…” Dorothy joked, managing a wry smile despite the fact that her skin felt like it was crawling with anxiety as she waited for Alex to say something back.

Alex ran her tongue slowly over her lips, choosing her next words carefully. “Dorothy, Anton is bad news-”  
“Alex-” Dorothy groaned in frustration. It felt like they were just going around in circles.   
“You asked me to say something, and I am. So listen to me.” Alex demanded. There was a quiet intensity about her. Despite the fact that she was internally loosing it, she appeared calm and collected on the outside. Dorothy ‘fight me’ Castlemore could only dream of possessing such self-control.

Stunned in to silence, Dorothy sat quietly while Alex started again. “Anton is bad news. I don’t know what game he’s playing, but he’s dangerous. Regardless of any other… feelings, I am your friend first and foremost. I care about you, and I don’t want to see you hurt. Like I was.”

“I can see why Portia and Ariana call you mom.” Dorothy joked to fill the silence that settled over them.   
“Please don’t call me that.” Alex shook her head despondently.   
“Yeah, thinking about it, it’s probably weird to call a girl I’ve kissed ‘mom’.” Dorothy pulled a face, tugging a small smile out from Alex. The younger girl’s goofiness was part of her unexpected charm. Alex had never meant to fall for her. She’d never meant for a lot of things to happen.

“I think we’ve established that I kissed-” Alex began, trying to lighten the mood between them. She was abruptly cut off as Dorothy leaned forward, closing the distance between them and crushing their lips together. Alex was as startled as Dorothy had been when she’d ambushed her a few days earlier; but she was a lot quicker on the uptake. She started kissing back almost immediately.

Alex was an exceptionally good kisser. It probably shouldn’t have come as a shock. She seemed the type to be a perfectionist at whatever she tried her hand at. Dorothy actually let out a surprised little noise as Alex’s tongue slipped past her parted lips. Taking it as a bad sign, Alex tried to pull back, but Dorothy wouldn’t allow it.

Tangling her fingers in Alex’s hair, she leaned in, pushing there bodies even closer together. Alex sat back in her seat, pulling Dorothy along with her. The younger girl slipped off the coffee table and climbed on to Alex’s lap, settling quite comfortably there.

Their impromptu make-out session carried on until Dorothy’s phone began to ring. She ignored it at first, reluctant to pull away from Alex’s very talented mouth, but whoever was calling was pretty persistent. In the end Dorothy had to pull away with a sigh. She pressed a kiss to the tip of the other girl’s nose as she rifled in her pocket for her phone.

Her face fell at the sight of the caller ID. Alex didn’t have to ask who it was. “Anton.” She guessed, her own expression falling as they were both pulled back down to reality. Dorothy nodded. She’d forgotten all about him coming over. Her ‘boyfriend’ was probably sitting in her place wondering why Dorothy’s friends were there but she wasn’t. “You should go.”

“Alex, I-” Dorothy was cut off with another kiss. This one lacked the spontaneity of their first kiss, and the passion of their second. It felt more like a goodbye.   
“Go.” Alex repeated in barely more than a whisper, running the pad of her thumb along Dorothy’s cheek. Dorothy had never felt so torn in her whole life. A big part of her wanted to stay right where she was. She swallowed hard, trying to find the will to stand up and walk out.

When she finally managed to stand and reach the door, she was stopped by one last ominous warning from the other girl. “Dorothy, just be careful. Okay? Whatever you might think of Miller, he’s not one of the good guys.”

Dorothy struggled not to bark out a laugh at that. She’d just made out with one of her best friends, behind her boyfriend’s back. Just when had she become _that_ person? “Maybe he’s not… and maybe I’m not either.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Short Dorlex one-shot that I had to write after watching eps 12 and 13. Hopefully the next piece I write for them will be little fluffier.


End file.
